Today, the cost of petroleum products has overcome the psychological barrier of 20 UAH per liter. And it continues to rise. As of 02/23/2015, a number of gas stations are selling the main types of gasoline at prices exceeding 24 UAH/l. But the problem is not only in the hryvnia exchange rate against the world's major currencies. World oil prices have slightly but started to go up... The vast majority of experts believe that this will lead to a market collapse, as a significant portion of consumers will not be able to afford purchasing energy carriers at such prices. But the government, contrary to logic, is not paying attention to this. Moreover, they are considering increasing taxes on petroleum products.
Recently, the decline in retail sales of the main types of fuel has exceeded 25% compared to the same periods last year. For the market of petroleum-derived products, as for any market of excisable goods, an increase in cost is fraught with the growth of the shadow market. Everything contributes to this. For example, the latest New Year's gift in the form of a 5% tax on retail turnover of excisable goods, which fuel market participants found "under the Christmas tree" in amendments to the Tax Code that came out of nowhere. The result is obvious: in the first month of 2015, the amount of taxes equaled the purchase cost of imported petroleum products.
The most unpleasant thing is that the government constantly criticizes the population for their love of currency, but itself keeps excise taxes in euros. So, maybe it's time to set the excise tax in the national currency?
Don't hope, dear comrades. The government exists not to give, it exists to take. There are rumors in the market that the government is considering the possibility of increasing the excise tax on petroleum products. They, you see, need compensation for the reduction of rent for oil extraction. That is, they want to shift the costs for big business onto the shoulders of consumers. And most likely, the probability of such a scenario is not at all fantastic.
